Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 219 What a big boy

I departed from Nanzheng amidst the colorful clouds of dawn.

I traveled a thousand miles to Jiangzhou in a single day.

Okay, one day is a bit of an exaggeration.

After parting ways with Li Fu, Liu Shan returned east to Nanzheng, heading south all the way to Micang Road.

He met with General Chen Hu, who commanded a large naval fleet, at the Hanchang Diving Site.

Then they floated downstream in the boat, going with the current.

Passing through Dangqu, Mengtou, Dangshi, and Dianjiang.

When he arrived at Jiangzhou, which is now Chongqing, a mountain city, 600 li away, it only took him five days.

Although not as exaggerated as traveling a thousand miles to Jiangling in a single day, it was still quite fast.

According to his estimation, Li Fu, the clerk who was traveling overland from Jinniu Road back to Chengdu, probably hadn't even left Jiange yet at this time.

Jiangzhou is only a thousand miles away from Chengdu by waterway, but the last time Liu Shan came to Jiangzhou, or rather, the last time he passed through Jiangzhou in his memory, was when the late emperor was dying and A Dou went to Baidi City to receive the late emperor's last instructions.

It's been almost six years.

"Guosheng, I have long heard that after the former general took command of Jiangzhou, he built a large city in Jiangzhou, making it as solid as a rock. Even if Wu's army of 100,000 invaded Shu, it could withstand it. Today I have finally seen it, and it is indeed well-deserved."

Liu Shan praised Li Feng, the Attendant.

Li Feng's expression showed no joy, but rather worry:
"Your Majesty, my father is usually arrogant and boastful, relying on his achievements. His banners and drums often exceed the bounds of propriety, and his words and manners are sometimes overbearing."

“In the streets and alleys, people talked about his arrogance.”

"Even in the imperial court, there was discussion about its ostentation."

“These are things that I, as a son, cannot bear to hear, and things that my father should regret.”

"However...my father is absolutely loyal to the Han Dynasty and to Your Majesty, and has no disloyal intentions whatsoever."

"I hope Your Majesty will remember his loyal service and forgive his momentary lapse."

"Your subject Feng is willing to give up his own salary and land to atone for his father's sins, and personally lead his troops to defend the borders for the Han Dynasty and Your Majesty."

Li Feng's plea for his father was not without reason.

Not to mention that two years ago Li Yan advised the Prime Minister to receive the Nine Bestowments and to act as regent;
Not to mention that when Li Yan wrote to the Prime Minister to persuade him to receive the Nine Bestowments, he went straight to the point, hoping that the Prime Minister would cede three Ba ​​prefectures and five counties to form Ba Prefecture and appoint him as the governor of Ba Prefecture. After the Han Dynasty returned to its old capital, he brought up the old matter again.

Take this great city of Jiangzhou as an example. If the emperor is displeased with Li Yan, he can simply accuse Li Yan of having the fabricated charge of "possessing military power and ambitions of rebellion and separatism."

As for whether it's baseless or not?

Others may not know, but surely Li Feng understands what he truly thinks of his father?

During the six months he had served the emperor, Li Feng had already witnessed the emperor's methods firsthand and understood that the emperor's majesty was not to be trifled with. He also knew that this emperor was not the weak and easily fooled emperor that his father had previously described.

Today, the emperor has just arrived in Jiangzhou and has already started talking about his father building the great city of Jiangzhou. What is the deeper meaning behind his words? Li Feng is not a stupid or rebellious person, so how could he not see through it?

Two years ago, the Prime Minister had already considered launching a northern expedition. Fearing that there would be no one to hold the fort in Shu after he left Chengdu, he appointed Li Yan, the Grand Master of Ceremonies, who was also a trusted minister entrusted with the care of the young emperor and was equally capable in both civil and military affairs, as the General of the Vanguard and Governor of Jiangzhou, to return to Jiangzhou to take charge of affairs.

Jiangzhou was a key waterway hub in Sichuan. All the grain and military supplies of half of Yizhou had to pass through Jiangzhou and enter the Xihan River, which later became the Jialing River, before they could be transported to Hanzhong.

The high-ranking officials in the court could not understand why the Prime Minister appointed Li Yan to guard the key city of Jiangzhou.

Many people raised objections, but the prime minister insisted on doing so.

This incident clearly demonstrates the Prime Minister's trust in and regard for Li Yan.

Otherwise, if Li Yan were summoned back to court and given the honorary titles of Grand Tutor and Grand Marshal, it would be a demotion in disguise. What could Li Yan do then?

But Li Yan disagreed.

Before taking up his post as governor of Jiangzhou, Li Yan had been serving as governor of Yong'an.

Generals Chen Dao and Fu Kuang, along with Zhang Gu (son of Zhang Nan), Wang Chong (son of Wang Lei), and Zheng Pu (son of Zheng Du), all served under his command and fought together to resist Eastern Wu.

However, since the death of the late emperor, Li Yan had been resentful that he could not enter the central government to participate in politics, and he had a lot of complaints about the prime minister, believing that the prime minister had monopolized power and acted arbitrarily.

Before the Northern Expedition, he was transferred from Yong'an to Jiangzhou by the Prime Minister and appointed as the General of the Vanguard. In Li Yan's view, this was not because he was entrusted with a great responsibility or was appointed in a time of crisis, but because the Prime Minister was worried that he would surrender Yong'an to Wu, so he divided his military power and moved him to the interior.

Li Hui, the governor of Yijiang upstream, was not afraid of him.

Chen Dao, the governor of Yong'an downstream, and his generals Fu Kuang and Zhang Gu, were all loyal to the country and not Li Zhengfang's lackeys.

Jiang Wan, Xiang Chong, and Yang Hong in the central government were also at odds with him.

In this way, even if he wanted to cause trouble, he wouldn't be able to stir up any real waves.

But in order to stir up trouble and create waves, he made many big moves after becoming the governor of Jiangzhou.

At that time, the old city of Jiangzhou was located north of the Xihan River. It could effectively control the Xihan River and protect the Sanba region from foreign invasion, but it could not control the Yangtze River.

Once the Eastern Wu navy blocks the Xihan River, it can continue westward and northward along the Yangtze River, heading straight for Chengdu.

After Li Yan took office in Jiangzhou, he immediately built another city on the Yuzhong Peninsula south of the Jialing River.

This city is bordered by Goose Mountain to the left, Jialing River to the north, and the Yangtze River to the south.

It was wide and long from east to west, and narrow and short from north to south, with a circumference of 16 li. It was the great city of Jiangzhou, and also the main city of Chongqing that remained unchanged in later generations.

Once this city was built, Jiangzhou's two cities, one in the south and one in the north, occupied a strategic location and guarded the vital points of the two rivers.

From then on, the gateway to Shu in the Han Dynasty possessed a three-dimensional defense system that was no different from the Xiangfan defense line of Cao Wei and the Jiangling defense line of Sun Wu, and it completely controlled the key waterways in Shu.

Even if Wu's navy breaks through Yong'an, it is impossible for them to bypass Jiangzhou and directly advance on Chengdu.

This is a good thing, and there's nothing wrong with it.

But the problem was that Li Yan named the east gate of Jiangzhou's south city "Azure Dragon Gate," the west gate "White Tiger Gate," the north gate "Black Tortoise Gate," and the south gate "Vermilion Bird Gate."

This naming, which clearly exceeded the bounds of etiquette, led to increasing criticism of Li Yan from many high-ranking officials and ministers in Sichuan.

The prime minister did not hold Li Yan accountable for this.

He only told the civil and military officials in the court that Li Yan was entrusted with the care of the late emperor and was a loyal and capable general. He said that he only took such a big name because he cared about his reputation and wanted a false name. It was just a bunch of empty names to impress people and was not a big deal.

Li Yan then submitted a memorial, saying that he had chosen these names for the emperor and hoped that the emperor would move the capital to Jiangzhou.

Jiangzhou is the hub of Yizhou and the gateway to Bashu. If the emperor were to move the capital here, it would both deter all directions and keep a watchful eye on Jingzhou.

The imperial court rejected this proposal.

But instead of restraining himself, Li Yan began to escalate his behavior.

After the completion of the southern city of Jiangzhou, the only flaw in Jiangzhou's three-dimensional defense system was the narrow Eling Pass to the west of the southern city.

Li Yan then added passes along the route and built a garrison city on Eling, ostensibly to protect the distant mother city of Jiangzhou.

The court debate resumed.

Li Yan wasn't defending against Eastern Wu at all; he was defending against Chengdu in the northwest of Jiangzhou.

It's barely acceptable.

To prevent any unforeseen events in Yong'an and to defend against Eastern Wu.

But even after the court meeting, Li Yan still didn't stop.

He surveyed the terrain of Jiangzhou and decided to excavate the narrowest part of the Yuzhong Peninsula, east of Eshan and west of Nancheng, creating a moat wider and deeper than the moat of Xiangyang. This would connect the Jialing River and the Yangtze River, making the Yuzhong Peninsula a true island.

Li Yan prepared to start construction without consulting the imperial court.

When the news of his massive conscription of laborers reached the imperial court, everyone was shocked, and the civil and military officials were in uproar.

The Prime Minister finally issued an edict to stop Li Yan.

Everyone knows how difficult it is to take Xiangyang.

Once Jiangzhou becomes an island city like Xiangyang, even a million-strong army will have nowhere to stand.

So Wu's army couldn't take Jiangzhou, but neither could Han's army.

If Li Yan were to harbor any disloyal intentions, the military forces in Shu would only be able to control the Chengdu Plain and the southern prefectures southwest of Chengdu.

As for Guanghan, Bajun, Badong, Baxi, Jiangyang, Fuling, Baidi, and even Hanzhong, they will all be under Li Yan's de facto control.

Whether Li Yan harbors any intention to rebel against the Han dynasty remains unknown, but it is common knowledge that Li Yan, who commands tens of thousands of troops, is plotting to dominate a region, establish a separate center, and rival the Prime Minister.

Since then, many people have advised the Prime Minister that Li Yan is cunning and has the potential to seize power and rebel, and they hope that the Prime Minister can move Li Yan to another place and not let Li Yan continue to govern the important town of Jiangzhou.

Perhaps hoping to influence Li Yan through this incident and let him know his good intentions, the Prime Minister still did not heed the advice of his ministers and allowed him to remain in office.

When the emperor personally led the expedition, Li Feng failed to arrive on time.

The prime minister finally understood that not everyone could be reformed by his sincere heart. Some people, for the sake of fame and fortune, could truly transform from being both learned and skilled in martial arts into being both foolish and wicked.

As Liu Shan marched south, he kept a low profile and did not make much of a fuss.

Although Li Yan was the governor of Jiangzhou, Liu Shan did not send anyone to inform Li Yan of the victory at Xicheng and Shangyong.

Li Yan was completely unaware that the emperor had personally visited Jiangzhou.

When he received news from the city gate general that General Chen Hu of the warship fleet had arrived and invited him to come out of the city for a chat, he was disdainful and angry.

"How dare you, brat?!"

“Even if his father Chen Dao were to come in person, he would still take the initiative to abandon the ship and climb the city wall to seek my help.”

"What merit or ability does he possess to dare invite me to a meeting outside the city?!"

"Just because he was awarded the title of General of the Warships?!"

"not see!"

The city gate captain left in a huff.

Not long after, they turned back again.

"General, the young lord has returned as well!"

"What?!" Li Yan was both surprised and delighted.

However, this surprise was fleeting; his expression changed instantly, like a face-changing act in Sichuan opera, and he began to curse:

"That wretched beast actually knows to come back!"
"I have exchanged countless letters with him over the past six months!"
"He was quite something; aside from replying to the first two letters, he didn't write a single word back to me for the next three or four months!"
"Now it's even more outrageous. Now that he's back in Jiangzhou, he doesn't come to pay his respects to his parents first. Instead, what is he doing outside the city with Chen Hu?!"

"Am I, as his father, supposed to go and host a welcome dinner for him?!"
"What a beast!"
"Unfilial son!"

Although Li Yan was cursing angrily, he was still putting on his clothes and shoes.

"General, the young lord is serving His Majesty and is much busier than before, so it is understandable that he has no time to reply to letters."

The city gate captain was a confidant of Li Yan. He followed Li Yan from Nanyang to Shu and had been cultivated by him for decades. He was loyal to Li Yan.

In Jiangzhou, there were many such officers and generals.

As a trusted minister entrusted with the care of the young emperor and stationed on the border for many years, he had such a reputation and a strong sense of righteousness. Even if he was not Li Yan's confidant at first, after several years of cultivation, he gradually became one of Li Yan's confidants.

Li Yan remained noncommittal. He had just stepped out the door when he stopped and instructed the servant, "Yongnu, tell Madam that the young master has returned and ask her to prepare the young master's favorite dishes!"

Upon hearing this, the servant immediately turned and left.

With the unconventional propaganda already prepared, Li Yan mounted his equally unconventional carriage and headed ostentatiously toward the city gate.

Upon hearing the familiar drum music and seeing the magnificent carriages, the people on the street respectfully made way for the roadside, casting awe-inspiring glances at the Jiangzhou governor under the green canopy. They saw that the Jiangzhou governor was dressed in fine clothes and had a dignified expression.

There are advantages to not being able to enter the central nervous system.

At least for now, Li Yan is enjoying this feeling of being second only to everyone else and above all others.

The impregnable defenses of Jiangzhou gave him a strong sense of security and confidence.

Although I dare not easily establish myself independently, I am powerful enough to command an army. Even if the emperor Zhuge Liang were to do something to me, what could he do?
Halberds cleared the way.

The drums and music were deafening, and the horses' hooves pounded on the ground.

The blue silk canopy of the Jiangzhou governor finally passed through the Xuanwu Gate of the great city of Jiangzhou.

Liu Shan looked towards the city gate, staring at the bluestone inscribed with the three characters "Xuanwu Gate" embedded in the rammed earth city wall, and suddenly smiled.

What is about to happen today is probably the Xuanwu Gate Incident of the Han Dynasty, right?
Because Liu Shan and his close generals, including Guan Xing, Mi Wei, and Zhao Guang, were dressed in ordinary clothes and deliberately stood by the roadside, Li Yan, under the green parasol, did not cast his gaze over them even for a moment.

He ignored General Chen Hu of the warship and instead launched into a tirade of abuse at Li Feng, who was on the road.
"You unfilial son! You still know how to come back!"

Li Feng looked grim. He wanted to tell his father that the emperor had arrived, but Li Yan's cursing was so relentless that he couldn't get a word in edgewise.

Seeing that his unfilial son remained silent, only bowing his head and silently accepting the scolding, Li Yan felt bored and finally stopped: "Go home, your mother should have already prepared dinner."

After saying this, he ordered the carriage to turn back.

Seeing this, Li Feng finally spoke up: "My lord, His Majesty has arrived."

Li Yan suddenly paused, finally understanding why little Chen Hu dared to invite him out of the city, and why this rebellious son would appear in Jiangzhou and act in this way.

Before he could even straighten his clothes, the man hurriedly stepped down from the carriage and craned his neck to look around for the emperor, but after searching for several times, he could not find the emperor anywhere.

Liu Shan then slowly walked out from the side of the road, and when he reached Li Yan's side, he said in a cold voice, "Minister Li, how have you been?"

Li Yan was terrified when he heard the voice and turned around abruptly. When he saw the person who had spoken, he was filled with disbelief.

His gaze swept over these people, and he noticed that they seemed to be quite extraordinary, but he didn't recognize them as the emperor at all, thinking they were Chen Hu's officers.

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty, please forgive me!"

"It has been several years since I last saw Your Majesty, and your appearance has changed so much that this old minister, with his poor eyesight, cannot discern it!"

"It's alright." Liu Shan smiled and strode towards Xuanwu Gate.

Guan Xing, Zhao Guang, Mi Wei and other generals followed.

Li Yan gazed at the emperor's slowly departing figure, his expression extremely complex.

The simplest and most ordinary two words, "It's alright," made the governor of Jiangzhou feel an invisible pressure.

He had never felt this kind of pressure since the late emperor's death.

"The color of Li Qing's carriage canopy is exceptionally beautiful. I wonder what it is made from?" Liu Shan stopped abruptly after passing Li Yan's green silk canopy and asked with a half-smile.

Li Yan was still in a daze when he heard the voice. He was stunned for a moment, and when he realized what the emperor was saying, his heart skipped a beat. Then, his forehead was covered in beads of sweat, and he instinctively turned his head to look at his son.

But Li Feng avoided eye contact and remained silent with his head down.

(End of this chapter)